Hanover — Students at Richmond Middle School are selling bracelets and planning a Latino-themed meal to benefit young Nicaraguan artists.

The sale, which continues through Thursday, features “pulseras,” the Spanish word for bracelets, made by members of the Pulsera Project. The project supports several humanitarian efforts, including a program for homeless youth and an artists’ cooperative comprising about 30 young artists, most of whom grew up in youth shelters.

Poverty is a widespread problem in Nicaragua, said Erin Madory, who teaches Spanish at the school and helps students organize the fundraisers. “Two out of five people there are impoverished. This is a way to help raise money to send kids to school” and enable family members to stay home and take care of the children.

The woven cotton or leather bracelets, which cost $5, are being sold before and after school and during free periods and lunch. Last year, Richmond students raised $4,000, making theirs the highest fundraising school in the project’s history, Madory said.

Their efforts also include a student-led schoolwide presentation about Nicaraguan culture and history.

The dinner is set for Thursday, from 5-6:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria. The meal, prepared and served by students, will feature tortillas, carne asada, vegetable tacos or burritos, beans and rice, guacamole, salsa fresca, and desserts. Students will sing songs in Spanish. The suggested donation is $5 per person.

For more information, contact Madory at 603-643-6040 or erinmadory@dresden.us. — Aimee Caruso